Dr. Aram Glorig; Ear Specialist, Noise Expert

Dr. Aram Glorig, an internationally known forensic ear specialist and founder of the American Auditory Society, has died. He was 92.

Glorig, an expert on industrial noise and its effect on hearing, died June 22 in San Clemente of cancer.

Born in Manchester, England, and raised in Connecticut, Glorig was educated at Loma Linda University in Southern California.

Assigned to England during World War II, he studied the effects of bomb blasts on hearing. At the end of the war, Glorig was appointed director of the Audiology and Speech Correction Center, which he helped develop at Walter Reed Army Hospital. There, he treated military personnel suffering hearing impairment because of exposure to battlefield noise.

He also worked with manufacturers to develop smaller, more efficient hearing aids.

In 1947, Glorig was named to a federal subcommittee at the Noise Research Center and directed scientific surveys of noise in industry. His work provided the basis for safe noise level standards established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The doctor, as a member of the National Assn. of Hearing and Speech Agencies, also helped develop and promote standards for auditory testing equipment and for accrediting hearing treatment organizations.

For many years, Glorig taught at USC and worked with the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, which sponsors research and education on hearing.

A popular speaker, he was a staunch advocate of reducing workplace noise and encouraged cooperation among health professionals, industrial leaders and acoustics engineers to accomplish that goal. He also cautioned individuals to wear earplugs and otherwise protect their hearing in risky noise situations.

“Men who notice that their car is noisy while driving to work may, if they work in a loud factory, think when they drive home at night that the car is running very quietly,” he told The Times in 1957. “Fortunately, this temporary deafness disappears after a good night’s rest.”

Glorig was frequently honored for his work, earning the presidential citation from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the lifetime achievement award of the American Auditory Society and the health achievement in occupational medicine award from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

He is survived by his wife, Bobbi Barras-Glorig; two daughters, Patty Schiff and Debbie DeVeccia; three stepchildren, Debie Seifert, Tony and Bryan Barras; two granddaughters; and seven step-grandchildren.